Breathe
by JackieLupin
Summary: Sequel to "Surprises." A mission for Team 7 turns out to be a bit more than anyone, especially Sakura, expected.


**Breathe:**** by JackieLupin**

**Disclaimer****: I own nothing that is trademarked to Naruto and the talented human who created the series, Masashi Kishimoto. **

**By the way, ****Breathe**** can be seen as a sequel to ****Surprises.**** It takes place sometime after that oh-so-happy clichéd get together in the park. The song "Breathe" by Michelle Branch was my major influence for this little story.**

**WARNING: Pointless, plot-less story (for now, I may decide to actually take it forward later)!**

The ground was wet as they plodded along, weary and exhausted from being chased for two days nonstop. Even Kakashi, who seemed to never tire, was dragging his feet and slouching even more than usual. Naruto and his usual annoyingly cheerful exuberance had been dampened both by the horrible weather and the too-close calls where Team 7 had only just eluded the enemy shinobi. Sasuke remained the same, rain or shine. He was as lost in his thoughts as ever, though every now and he would smile and glance over at her.

Sakura sighed quietly and wiped wet strands of pink hair from her forehead as the team set up camp. Opposite to her, Sasuke and Naruto were grumbling, arguing, over the construction of a tent to keep them dry. Kakashi, of course, was nowhere to be seen as he scouted the area. Sakura secretly thought he offered to scout just to escape setting up camp for the night.

With another sigh, Sakura loosened the binds on her shoulder to inspect the cuts that marred her skin from an earlier skirmish, fully intending to heal them. When her chakra wouldn't answer to her call, Sakura frowned, frustrated, before belatedly remembering that she had used much of her precious chakra healing the deep belly cut Naruto had carelessly received. So instead, Sakura twisted to reach into her kunai pouch to take out antiseptic to clean the scratches before they got inflamed and infected.

"Yo," Kakashi said abruptly from behind her in a way that never failed to make her twitch nervously, "Need some help?"

Sakura exhaled sharply and leaned back against the tree, holding out her arm for Kakashi to see and ignoring the wet that seeped into her clothing. "Yes please," she murmured, and took a deep breath as the experienced Copy-nin examined the wound and applied the antiseptic.

"There's no sight of any of the shinobi," Kakashi remarked, "But of course that doesn't mean a thing. I'll take first watch tonight to keep a lookout for them. I've already placed exploding tags around the perimeter, and I know Naruto hid a couple of snares, but just to play it safe…"

"Hai," Sakura said, and yawned, "I wonder what they want from us. All we're doing is a routine scouting mission for Tsunade-sama and we have these guys on our trail from the get-go. It's a little odd, if you ask me."

Swearing from the other side of the clearing made them both look over. Sasuke had given up trying to set up the tent and was making snide comments at Naruto, who tried, half-heartedly, to straighten up the sticks that held the fabric up. When the whole tent became lopsided, Naruto aimed a kick at the ground, which was apparently dangerously close to the tent in Sasuke's opinion, because Sasuke punched the blond and commenced with a string of curses. When the tent finally was up, Sasuke merely opened one of his packs and threw the blankets haphazardly inside. His laziness could seriously rival even the infamous Shikamaru's at times.

"If they keep this up, we'll be spotted for sure!" she hissed, a little disquieted by the loudness of Naruto's grumbles as he released some anger on the muddy ground, but Kakashi only chuckled and told her not to worry about it.

Kakashi wound the bandage around her arm, tied it with his teeth, and gave her an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it for now, Sakura. Get some sleep, and we'll discuss it in the morning. When we _all_ have had some rest." With a wink, he bounded away into the night, as silent and nonexistent as a phantom.

Sasuke straightened with a groan, shooting a glare at Naruto when the blond merely plopped to the ground and stretched with a lazy expression of contentment on his face as though the wetness didn't affect him. His severe changes in emotions sometimes unsettled her.

Sasuke, however, was leaning moodily against a tall oak tree. "C'mere," he murmured to Sakura when she looked at him, holding his arms open.

She got to her feet and embraced Sasuke, half asleep on her feet. She could feel him trembling with exhaustion, and sadly realized she too was shaking. They were both ragged, tired, and anxious. Sakura hated the feeling, the feeling of being hunted that came along with every mission. Although all four shinobi were jounin, only Kakashi had the hardened experience of an elite shinobi. This was a walk in the park for him, or so he said.

Sasuke rested his head on top of hers and broke her from her reverie. "Kakashi is taking the first watch," she whispered to him, feeling detached from her aching body, "We should get some sleep."

Naruto crawled into the pitiful excuse of a tent and called, "G'night Sakura-chan, Sasuke," before promptly falling asleep, his body tangled in the array of blankets. Sakura smiled at him, and then glanced up at Sasuke and leaned her cheek against his.

"Let's get some sleep," Sakura repeated, and led him into the tent. She curled up next to Naruto after removing her boots and equipment and arranging the blankets so the blond wouldn't inadvertently take them over sometime during the night, then beckoned to Sasuke, who collapsed on his back and was asleep seconds later. It was a rather tight squeeze for the three of them, but at least the cold would not be a problem.

"Goodnight," she murmured to the boys, before she too fell asleep, feeling safe with Kakashi watching over them.

Sakura woke, shivering and twisted in her blankets. With a gasp she sat up, frightened by the absence of Naruto, before realizing that Kakashi must have called him for the second shift. But then where was Kakashi? And Sasuke was right beside her, his legs thrown over hers rather uncomfortably, still very much asleep. So Naruto and Kakashi were the only ones missing… The two must be talking or something similar to that…

The night air was freezing to her body as it shuddered to keep her warm. Her hands felt clammy, sweat was beading on her upper lip, and her head ached and swam terribly. It was only then that with a sinking feeling, Sakura felt the foreign illness spreading throughout her chest.

Just then, Naruto ran into the tent, clutching his chest and completely out of breath. "Sakura-chan! They're here, the shinobi! Kakashi's holding them off right now, but w-we have to-"

"Hai!" she said, pushing the poison to the back of her mind to deal with later, "Wake Sasuke up and catch your breath, Naruto, I'll go help Kakashi!" With that, she yanked on her boots, strapped on her kunai pouch and then took off stumbling into the night towards the sounds of a raging battle.

She flew into the clearing, a pink, black and gold blur to the enemy. In the blink of an eye, one shinobi fell, blood spraying from his severed jugular. Kakashi abruptly appeared next to her and without preamble grabbed her by the arms and swung her to the side. She whipped her head around and saw a katana slice through the air where she had been standing seconds ago. With a nod of thanks to her old sensei, she and Kakashi simultaneously disappeared under ground.

The pounding on the earth above them stopped, as though the Sound shinobi had halted their movements, confused. Kakashi, however, motioned for her to follow him as suddenly the commotion began again, with yells of fury and the unmistakable tension of large amounts of chakra being used. "Naruto and Sasuke," he breathed, then with a sigh and a rather feral grin, reappeared on the surface.

Sakura decided to take a breather; her body was beginning to ache in her joints, signs she knew definitely meant some kind of poison in her blood. It seemed to be a slow acting one so maybe, just maybe, she could save more chakra for the present battle and draw the poison out of her system later. If she had been more alert the night before, this wouldn't have happened!

Whipping out a kunai, Sakura closed her eyes, and, drawing on the little chakra that had been restored with her sleep, started laying a genjutsu over the clearing. The Sound-nins would see five of each of her teammates, until one was smart enough to realize it was just a hoax. But Sakura wasn't the apprentice of Tsunade for nothing! However, Sakura was only able to keep the genjutsu up for a moment; her aching head altered her chakra control too much.

Resurfacing, she found the battle was still on. Two shinobi lay dead; only three remained. Sensing that she was behind them, the shinobi in black evaded Sasuke's attack and raced towards her. She smiled grimly; she would make him pay for thinking that she would be easier to handle!

Just when he was close enough to strike, Sakura curved her body backwards and leapt out of the way, spinning around to land right behind him. Quickly, she placed all of her strength in a kick that sent him stumbling ahead- before the nin turned into a log. Cursing, Sakura gripped her kunai in her teeth and ducked just in time to miss the senbon thrown her way.

The hum of the katana carving through the tree gave Sakura a start, as did the abrupt pain that ran across her back. "Dammit!" she shouted, jumping around to meet the other shinobi who had surprised her so easily, parrying another one of his passes. Her back stung horribly as she twisted to avoid taking any more damage.

Suddenly Sasuke was in front of her with his shuriken, granting her a moment's reprieve from the katana-wielding Sound-nin. She doubled over, trying to catch her breath, while the Uchiha blocked the nin's uppercut before slamming his shoulder into the man's rib cage. With a sickening crack, the shinobi fell to the ground and ceased to move.

Sasuke grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. "Sakura, you-"

"I COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!" Naruto yelled in frustration, already making more Bunshin clones as he fought the final Sound-nin standing. Kakashi lazily walked towards the battle, and ended it by merely breaking the shinobi's nose and lodging bone fragments into his brain. Naruto groaned and shook his head rather dejectedly.

Sakura, suddenly feeling very woozy, fell to her knees for the second time that night, leaning forward in an attempt to keep her balance. She clenched her teeth together as her back wound pulled sharply. Sasuke knelt beside her and drew her close, allowing her to lean up against him as he inspected the wound with gentle, warm fingers. "It's not too deep," he murmured, his deep voice rumbling in his chest, "I can bind it for you. Where do you keep your antiseptic?"

"I-In… my pouch," she whispered back, groaning as she slumped against him as her strength gave out. Her head still throbbed mercilessly. Black began to gather in her vision as her body weakened.

"Sakura!" she heard Naruto exclaim, "Sasuke, what's wrong with her?"

There was another presence that knelt beside her, one she vaguely recognized as Kakashi. Their conversation was starting to fade in and out with the dull ringing that grew louder and louder in her ears. The wrap on her arm was being removed, as a knife cut her top open to reveal the wound on her back.

"…do you think…what could…"

"…too close to the border…"

"How are we… do we do…old camp on the other… river…"

Sakura floated in and out of consciousness; when she last opened her eyes, they were still in the clearing, and Naruto's worried face was in front of hers. The next time she managed to look around, she was in the tent, but the sun was shining now. When Sakura tried to move her arm, pain erupted throughout her body and brought her back to a world of nothing but blackness.

"Sakura…can you hear me?"

That was Sasuke, she decided, in the strained way he called her name. She lay still for a few moments, waiting for the pain to resurface, but when it didn't, Sakura took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

"Sakura," Sasuke sighed in relief, leaning down over her to cup her cheek in his hand, "How're you feeling?" His touch was reassuring.

She had to swallow a couple of times before she could even answer him. "Okay," she murmured, then, "What happened?"

A panicked expression replaced his relieved one. "Do you remember our mission? Scouting around Konoha? We were tailed by Sound shinobi for a couple of days-"

She smiled. "Baka," she said affectionately, "I remember. What happened after I collapsed? And where are we?"

"You know the area a few days away from Konoha? Where we'd always have to camp out after going to Suna to visit the Kazekage? Well, we're right near that. And as for you, Sakura, why didn't you know you had poison in your system?" He looked angry now.

"I thought I'd have time to take care of it later," Sakura said defensively, "I didn't have enough chakra at the time, and besides, it was a slow moving poison-"

He sighed angrily and closed his eyes, as if he were biting back scathing words. A few moments later, he appeared to calm down. "If Kakashi hadn't found it…" His eyes opened to bore into hers. "Sakura, if we had lost you, I… I don't know what I would have done…" Sasuke looked down.

With a repressed groan, Sakura managed to pull herself up. It was frightening, how much strength she lacked in her movements, but nonetheless, she managed to grip Sasuke's arms, forcing him to look at her again. "Sasuke-"

"Hey, easy does it," Sasuke barked, and pulled her up against him. He held her close, stroking her hair. "I'm so…so relieved," he murmured to her, his warm breath tickling her ear. One hand ran up and down her back, but it seemed he was comforting himself more than her. Sakura relaxed against him, grateful for the support, and at the same time frustrated from the weakness in her own body.

He must have felt her body begin to shake as she started to cry, because his arms tightened around her almost painfully. He always knew when she was upset; sometimes, in the night, when she thought he was sleeping, Sakura would slip out of bed to stand near the window, and release the emotions she kept in check during the day. She cried for her friends, for her family, for those she had to kill in battle, and for those killed by others. But most of all, she prayed, to Kami, to whoever was listening, to watch over those closest to her. And Sasuke would always join her and hold her, then guide her back to bed wordlessly when she was done crying because they didn't need words.

"Sakura," he croaked uncomfortably, "Sakura, don't cry…" He gently wiped the beginning of her tears away from her cheeks, trying to meet her eyes, but she refused to comply.

She hiccupped softly. "I... I hate this feeling," she muttered brokenly, "I hate how slowly I recover, I hate how weak I feel right now, and I hate that no matter how hard I try, I always manage to screw up a mission somehow-"

"Sakura, look at me."

"…"

"Sakura, please, look at me." He tilted her chin up and captured her lips with his tenderly. Breaking away, he pressed his forehead against hers. "Sakura, stop crying. What you said… it's not true, not any of it. Naruto and I make mistakes all of the time, and so does Kakashi. It's human. I'd be surprised if you didn't mess up now and then."

She closed her eyes and leaned into him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean to feel sorry for myself…"

"No," Sasuke replied, squeezing her gently, "Don't be sorry."

"Thanks," she whispered, and kissed his neck exhaustedly. Sakura nuzzled into his shoulder and shifted in his arms to find a more comfortable position. A few moments passed by in silence, then;

"I love you."

Sakura froze. Did…did he just-? Carefully, she pulled aware, unable to keep the shock from leaking to her face. "W-what?" she choked.

Sasuke smiled uncertainly, and all she could do was stare.

"Is it so hard to believe?" he asked her, voice extremely soft, "I'm not very good at interpreting emotions, but this… this I know. I feel it. Whenever you're around…And when you fell, I thought that I had lost you, and it hit me…"

She took the time, as his voice trailed off, to look at him. Really look at the raven-haired man before her. There was a slight red tinge to his cheeks that gave away his obvious embarrassment, as he pointedly looked anywhere but at her, but… it was his eyes that convinced her. They were hopeful…

"I love you too, Sasuke. But you should already know that." Gingerly, she leaned up to kiss first his nose, then his cheek, and then his chin. He growled warningly, but Sakura ignored it and continued her gentle teasing. And when their lips met, she finally knew for sure that the days where Sasuke believed her to be weak were far in the past.

**The end! Wow, I think I've written three drafts of this story, and it still ended up completely different than how I first planned it. Sasuke may seem a bit OOC, but really, when I envision this series of one-shots, it's a couple of years after his return to Konoha, with his "goals" already completed, so he's gonna loosen up a bit… I dunno. If you don't like, don't read. **

**I'd also like to give a special thanks to everyone who read "Surprises" and those who reviewed (SasukeRulez11, Broken Mantra, Xiaolindraginofenergy, contammynated.sith.of.mustafar, and hinata486) and/or put it on their favorites!**


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